Sunday, August 14, 2011

Learning curve

I'm blogging a day early this week because tomorrow promises to be a busy day. It's supposed to be the first day we start homeschool.

There are probably other schools that will be opening the doors to the hallowed halls of learning tomorrow, but I know that many are not starting until after Labor Day has passed. We tend to start a little early because it enables my kids to have more time for subjects like math. (You can't have too much time to do math.)

For me as a writer, it's different. I thought of this after speaking to a new writer today who was just starting out as a writer for children. I recommended Harold Underdown's book, and then reflected that this young man had many things to learn. The sooner he began his cache of writing knowledge, the better it would be for him. (What was possibly less encouraging was that I had already been at this writing craft thing for years and knew I still had a long way to go.)

It's too bad, but gone is the luxury of trotting off to the school bus stop to be whisked away to an academic paradise where I can study subjects for seven to eight carefully alloted school hours a day. Now there is no beginning or end to my personal school year. Besides this, I have to fight tooth and nail to fit any kind of a study of writing into my normal life.

So here's a thought for you this week. Do you constantly strive to learn more about writing and the publishing industry? Do you struggle to fit it all in, but do you find that, looking back, it's worth the sacrifices you've made to to be a better, educated writer?

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